Chapter 493 - 32: Return Journey
July 29th, at the break of dawn.
Most of the lights on the second floor of the factory were out, except for the light in Chen Zhou’s office.
The room, enveloped in a uniform gray, appeared especially solemn, offering no warmth, nor any opulence.
A steaming cup of coffee sat atop the reddish-brown conference table—
It was a reward delivered on April 16th, canned instant coffee, each can weighing 1.2kg, a total of 30 cans were delivered.
Normally Chen Zhou would add many lumps of brown sugar, but tonight he didn’t add any.
The bitter coffee entered his mouth, first a wave of bitterness, accompanied by a burnt taste, crept up his taste buds and filled his mouth. After the coffee flowed into his esophagus, the aftertaste left behind was acidic, and only finally could a hint of aroma be detected.
The excess caffeine made Chen Zhou’s spirit particularly excitable.
He sat at his desk, occasionally taking a sip of coffee, occasionally standing up from his ergonomic chair, grabbing the telescope, and looking out the window into the distance.
...
A sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon in the distance, turning a few shallow clouds over the sea into a gentle light purple.
As the sun rose, the light of the morning star gradually faded.
The morning glow erupted from the sea, spreading across the water in brilliant reds and blinding Chen Zhou, causing him to squint slightly.
He felt no fatigue and raised his hand to check his watch.
If everything went according to plan, at this very moment, it should be Sunday, the time they would complete the objective and set off with the captives.
But could these indigenous people, using sailboats for the first time, executing a covert mission for the first time, and even handling modern weapons for the first time, really complete the mission smoothly?
Chen Zhou was a bit worried.
However, this worry did not show on his face.
Even with the help of a telescope, gazing seaward from the second floor of the factory, no small boat could be found on the vast ocean.
Frequent observation was merely a means to comfort himself—Chen Zhou was well aware of this.
With one last glance, he returned to his desk, placed the monocular back on the table, and finished the last sip of coffee.
At that moment, someone knocked on the office door.
After receiving Chen Zhou’s permission, Saturday slipped in.
...
Since developing the "teacher" profession as his main occupation, this round-faced indigenous person’s physique had grown increasingly prosperous.
Less activity, combined with sitting for long periods, rich food, especially sweets and milk tea, quickly filled out his body.
Previously, Saturday’s face appeared somewhat fierce, possessing that primitive savagery unique to cannibals.
After nearly two years of study and life, now his appearance was somewhat akin to Huaxia People, just with a darker complexion.
...
Chen Zhou forced himself to stay awake the entire night with the help of coffee.
Saturday had no coffee, yet he hadn’t slept a wink either, and upon entering the office, his obvious dark circles and somewhat listless demeanor were clear to see.
"You haven’t slept either, do you want me to make some food first?"
Seeing Chen Zhou standing beside the chair, Saturday was a little surprised, seemingly not expecting the "Celestial God" to also be awake all night, he asked quietly.
"I don’t want to eat right now, but you can prepare some food for Sunday and them.
If all goes well, they should be back in three or four more hours."
Eating a full meal would make one sleepy, and Chen Zhou wanted to learn the outcome of the plan as soon as possible, so even though he was a bit hungry, he didn’t dare eat.
As he spoke, he yawned.
This yawn also made Saturday start yawning, filling the entire office with drowsiness.
...
Unlike the lazy atmosphere of Big Island, at this moment on the beaches of the Archipelago, there was an air of sternness.
The sea tides gently pushed the throat-slit indigenous man’s corpse, each retreating wave leaving a trail of pale red.
Not far from this corpse was the corpse of an indigenous woman, her chest, throat, and eye sockets bore the holes left by sharp arrows, and beneath her was similarly a pool of blood.
Closer to the forest on the coast lay two slightly stronger indigenous people.
They kneeled on the ground, their necks empty, both decapitated by Sunday.
These two "head birds" were the first of the captured indigenous people to resist.
But they were no match for Sunday, losing their lives to the long saber in the blink of an eye, their bodies left here to intimidate the other indigenous people.
With this sobering example, the other indigenous people dared not oppose these three seemingly demonic figures from Hell, and obediently complied, first having their hands tied, then being tossed into the cabin, and once inside, having their feet bound to prevent them from struggling and jumping into the sea.
When planning, Chen Zhou had hoped the team of three could capture at least ten indigenous people and bring them back to the island.
Successfully arriving at the island, interrogating the male and female indigenous people, getting definitive information from their mouths, Sunday and the team used the cover of darkness to move through the tribe as if they were in an uninhabited place, and soon captured fifteen people.
After decapitating two resisting indigenous warriors, the more cautious Kosu advised Sunday to stop, believing thirteen people to be enough.
Always daring, Sunday didn’t heed his advice, leaving Lu Ku and Kosu to guard the captives on the beach, then ventured alone into the tribe, and soon returned with two new captives.
...
The corpses on the beach were the trio’s final gift to the Tribe Leader, more of a provocation, but mostly an insult.
The indigenous people, like cheap commodities, under the threat of the blade, obediently waded through the seawater and were thrown onto the ship.
They huddled along both sides of the boat, trying to leave space for the three of them.
Some were terrified, some confused, some bewildered, some numb.
When the anchor was pulled up, the sails raised, and the small boat swayed in the sea waves, finally someone began to cry out, struggling desperately to jump into the sea.